Saturday, 19 September 2015

Female Hindu graduate of Delhi University stopped by IB, currently undergoing counselling.

A young Hindu woman in her "mid-20s" who was apparently radicalised during her time in Australia as a student has been undergoing counselling by Intelligence Bureau (IB) sleuths after her father discovered communication with Islamic State handlers on her computer.

The unnamed Delhi University graduate left for Australia three years ago to complete her post-graduate education. The daughter of a retired Indian Army Lieutenant Colonel, she was apparently attracted to Islam and came back to India a "changed person".

Intelligence sources said it was her father who approached the National
Investigation Agency (NIA) and reported her activities. He reportedly
sought help from the NIA in counseling and de-radicalising her after discovering communications with members of the terrorist group on her computer. Further investigation by him revealed that his
daughter was perhaps in touch with alleged IS recruiters and planned to
travel to Syria to join the outfit.

The NIA has handed over control of the matter to the Intelligence Bureau (IB), which is now handling the case. The woman is alleged to have planned to convert and then make her way
to Syria through Australia. IB sleuths have already held a few sessions
with her for the past 3 weeks, trying to get her to abandon her plans of joining the Islamic State.

Indian Government response to radicalisation - "major challenge"

The Government of India has been taking steps to stop the radicalisation
of the youth by IS. Last month, former home secretary L.C. Goyal
chaired a meeting of DGPs from various states on the strategy to tackle
IS radicalisation.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh had last week admitted that online
recruitment by the IS had become a major security challenge for India.
The minister had, however, said he was happy that Muslim families were
stopping youth who were getting attracted to the extremist organisation.

Australia and the Syrian war

Australia has an eclectic population comprising of Syrians, Lebanese and other Arabs. Prior to the rise of the Islamists in Syria, there was intense tensions between pro and anti-regime proponents in Australian society. An excellent debate on the issue can be found on YouTube. Famous pro-regime activist SyrianGirlpartisan is an Australian citizen.

SyrianGirlpartisan

With the rise of ISIS (later to be called the Islamic State) and other Islamists, the issue has taken a radical aspect. Despite Muslims accounting for a mere 2.2 per cent of the total
population, the country has seen many leaving for Syria to join the IS,
as well as lone wolf attacks by teenagers in the name of the outfit. According to a recent statement by then Australian PM Tony Abbott, at
least 70 Australians were fighting in Iraq and Syria, backed by about
100 Australia-based “facilitators”.

Abu
Khaled al-Cambodi

Converts joining the war in Australia is also not a new phenomenon.
In fact, one of the key recruiters for IS in Australia is a jihadi named Neil Prakash. A former Buddhist who now goes by the nom de guerre Abu
Khaled al-Cambodi — referring to his Fiji-Cambodian descent — recently
uploaded videos calling young Australians to launch lone wolf attacks in
the country.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Add your comments below and contribute to the discussion.